While German automakers race to produce the world’s first pollution-free, hydrogen-powered car, the world’s largest consumer market for automobiles, the U.S. remains stuck in a Faustian bargain with fossil fuels. From 1994.

The automobile is one of the miracles of the 20th century, giving us unprecedented freedom and power over time and space. But like the legendary Dr. Faustus, this power could one day turn on us, as the poisonous curses of pollution and global warming undermine the society that cars have made possible.

In Germany, where haze straight from hell or Los Angeles often chokes the Rhine valley and the autobahns, scientists and automakers have been racing to save us from this dilemma by designing a car that would run on pollution-free hydrogen.